Radiation Therapy News and Research

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Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy, x-ray therapy, or irradiation) is the use of a certain type of energy (called ionizing radiation) to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy injures or destroys cells in the area being treated (the “target tissue”) by damaging their genetic material, making it impossible for these cells to continue to grow and divide. Although radiation damages both cancer cells and normal cells, most normal cells can recover from the effects of radiation and function properly. The goal of radiation therapy is to damage as many cancer cells as possible, while limiting harm to nearby healthy tissue.

OncoGenex's Phase 3 SYNERGY trial shows survival benefits of custirsen therapy in CRPC patients with poor prognosis

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that results from a retrospective analysis of the Phase 3 SYNERGY trial showed a benefit with custirsen therapy in men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who had a poor prognosis.

1 Jun 2015

Additional preclinical data on DelMar’s VAL-083 to treat temozolomide-resistant GBM presented at AACR

DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing proven cancer therapies in new orphan drug indications, presented additional preclinical data at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Advances in Brain Cancer Research Conference on the potential for its lead product candidate VAL-083 (dianhydrogalactitol) to treat patients with temozolomide-resistant glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

1 Jun 2015

Decipher Prostate Cancer Classifier predicts metastasis in patients treated with salvage radiation therapy

GenomeDx Biosciences today announced that data presented at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting demonstrate that the Decipher® Prostate Cancer Classifier is a significant predictor of metastasis in patients treated with postoperative salvage radiation therapy.

30 May 2015

Acupuncture-like TENS may be effective for treating radiation-induced xerostomia

Phase III results of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 0537 indicate that acupuncture-like, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (ALTENS) may be equally effective as pilocarpine, the current prescription medication in a pill, to treat radiation-induced xerostomia (dry mouth), according to a study published in the June 1, 2015 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

30 May 2015

Eli Lilly to present Phase III PROCLAIM trial results at ASCO Annual Meeting

Eli Lilly and Company announced final results of the Phase III PROCLAIM trial that will also be discussed in an oral presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago.

29 May 2015

Neurosurgeon performs first endoscopic removal of spinal tumor at Rhode Island Hospital

The spinal tumor grew back. Even though the 16-year old patient endured surgery a year earlier to remove and diagnose the lesion, it was back and its cause unknown. Determined to identify the tumor tissue and set the patient on an appropriate treatment regimen, Albert Telfeian, M.D., a neurosurgeon at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital, performed the first reported case of extracting the tumor endoscopically while the patient was awake and under a local anesthetic.

29 May 2015

DITTA attends Sixty-Eighth World Health Assembly session held in Geneva

DITTA, the Global Diagnostic Imaging, Healthcare IT and Radiation Therapy Trade Association is, for the first time, attending the World Health Organization’s Sixty-Eighth World Health Assembly from 18-26 May 2015 since DITTA granted the status of NGO in official relationship with WHO.

28 May 2015

New nationwide survey shows steady increase in pediatric patients treated with proton radiation therapy

Results from a new nationwide survey announced today indicate a steady increase in the number of pediatric patients who are being treated with proton radiation therapy for cancerous and non-cancerous tumors.

24 May 2015

Esophageal cancer patients treated with proton therapy experience less toxic side effects

New research by scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has found that esophageal cancer patients treated with proton therapy experienced significantly less toxic side effects than patients treated with older radiation therapies.

24 May 2015

Merus Labs International acquires rights to manufacture, market specialty pharmaceutical products in multiple countries

Merus Labs International Inc. is pleased to announce that one of its wholly owned subsidiaries has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the rights to manufacture, market, and sell two established specialty pharmaceutical products in certain European and other markets.

22 May 2015

Scripps Proton Therapy Center reports exceptional results in treating patients with pencil-beam scanning

The nation's first and only proton therapy center to treat patients exclusively with pencil-beam scanning is reporting exceptional results in delivering cancer treatment since opening for patient care just more than a year ago.

21 May 2015

Stereotactic body radiotherapy appears to be safe, effective for some pancreatic cancer patients

Two studies from Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers add to preliminary evidence that high-dose radiation treatment, called stereotactic body radiotherapy, appears to be safe and as effective as standard radiation treatment for certain patients with pancreatic cancer whose tumors are advanced but have not spread.

20 May 2015

Johns Hopkins researchers identify new therapy to treat lung cancer

A multidisciplinary team led by Johns Hopkins researcher Venu Raman, Ph.D., with notable contributions from Guus Bol, Farhad Vesuna and Phuoc Tran of Johns Hopkins, has identified a new therapy for lung cancer, the most common cancer worldwide. The therapy has been in development for six years and involves a first-in-class molecule designed by the team.

20 May 2015

Scientists identify new molecules that destroy cancer cells, save healthy ones

Researchers have identified new molecules that kill cancer cells while protecting healthy cells and that could be used to treat a variety of different cancers. The research shines a light on what happens to cells at the moment they become cancerous.

15 May 2015

Prostate cancer patients can experience cognitive impairment following androgen deprivation therapy

Cognitive impairment can occur in cancer patients who are treated with a variety of therapies, including radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy.

14 May 2015

Prostate cancer patients who receive androgen deprivation therapy may experience cognitive problems

Cognitive impairment can occur in cancer patients who are treated with a variety of therapies, including radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy. After chemotherapy treatment it is commonly called "chemo brain." Signs of cognitive impairment include forgetfulness, inability to concentrate, problems recalling information, trouble multi-tasking and becoming slower at processing information.

13 May 2015

Study: Disrupting cancer pathway could extend benefits of new immunity-boosting drugs

Understanding how to overrule a signaling pathway that can cause treatments to fail in metastatic melanoma patients should help physicians extend the benefits of recently approved immunity-boosting drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors to more patients.

12 May 2015

Study analyzes outcomes of brain metastases patients following stereotactic radiosurgery

Winner of the Leksell Radiosurgery Award, Deborah C. Marshall, recently presented her research, Survival Patterns of Patients with Cerebral Metastases after Multiple Rounds of Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS), at the 2015 American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting.

7 May 2015

Elekta striving to build radiation therapy infrastructures and save lives of cancer patients in Africa

In Africa, cancer kills more people than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Approximately 40 percent of cancer cases can be prevented and 40 percent can be cured with the right treatment. Together with Elekta, ministries of health in almost a dozen African nations are working to build up their radiation therapy infrastructures and save lives.

From Elekta 6 May 2015

Moderate exercise on a regular basis may improve cancer treatments

Kansas State University kinesiology research offers encouraging information for cancer patients: A brisk walk or a slow jog on a regular basis may be the key to improved cancer treatments.

5 May 2015